OUR VIEW: The difficult balance in pursuing cold cases

Justice is seldom a swift process. Sometimes, after years and decades have passed and crimes remain unsolved, it seems that justice may never be served. It is crucial for the interests of public safety and justice to ensure that dangerous criminals do not remain at large, so even after the trail has gone cold, police and prosecutors continue to pursue these unsolved mysteries.

The Herald News, Fall River, MA

Writer

Posted Oct. 19, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Oct 19, 2013 at 7:23 PM

Posted Oct. 19, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Oct 19, 2013 at 7:23 PM

» Social News

Justice is seldom a swift process. Sometimes, after years and decades have passed and crimes remain unsolved, it seems that justice may never be served. It is crucial for the interests of public safety and justice to ensure that dangerous criminals do not remain at large, so even after the trail has gone cold, police and prosecutors continue to pursue these unsolved mysteries.

Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter has made solving “cold cases” a priority since taking office in 2007. Indeed, voters’ frustration over what Sutter called the “open wounds” of unsolved murder cases in Fall River and New Bedford from 2004 to 2006 under then-District Attorney Paul Walsh helped propel Sutter to victory over the incumbent. Solving cold cases has remained a focus that Sutter points to with pride.

The DA touts his success rate of solving these crimes and securing convictions. Sutter’s prosecutors have filed charges in 11 cold cases — defined as unsolved homicide cases that were opened prior to 2007 — with six going to trial. All but one defendant was convicted, and in the acquittal, his co-defendant was convicted.

The extent to which to pursue such cases is a difficult dilemma for prosecutors with limited resources. On one hand, it’s important to ensure that justice is served, dangerous criminals are held accountable and victims’ families are able to find closure. No one should get away with murder.

But, while solving these mysteries can relieve a community, cold cases can also dig up old wounds for victims’ families and witnesses — sometimes just as people may have begun to accept the circumstances and move on.

Furthermore, the march of time can make these cases very difficult — and expensive — to pursue. Witnesses and suspects die or become incapacitated due to age and illness. Memories of the events begin to fade. Some witnesses or suspects move away — in some instances across the country — necessitating significant travel expenses.

And there’s only so much time in the day. Since new cases constantly come into the DA’s office, prosecutors and investigators often have to review cold cases after-hours. Each is assigned an assistant district attorney with one state police investigator assigned to investigate cold cases full-time.

Fortunately, modern DNA testing of evidence has made these cases easier to solve — with greater accuracy.

While Sutter continues to place a high priority on pursuing cold cases, he is also cognizant of the cost. “We are constantly weighing whether we can afford to do something with what we would like to do,” he said. In these days of tight budgets, the decision of whether to pursue cold cases is a difficult balance to strike. That said, it is difficult to put a price tag on the value of justice being served — regardless of when it served.